Familiarity breeds contempt (and affection)
by zeph317toho
Summary: In a world of magic, Ichigo cannot become a full mage without successfully summoning his familiar. But when it does appear, it's nothing like the lovable animal familiars everyone else bonds with.


This is an AU in a fantasy-type world where magic is real.

 **PAIRING** : Grimmjow/Ichigo

 **RATING** : PG-13 for canon-style violence and kissing

 **WARNINGS** : Talk of war and canon-type violence and fighting along with injuries and blood. Swearing. Let me know if it needs any other warnings.

 **NOTES** : This was written as part of the 30-Day AU Challenge I did in April. It is based completely on a prompt from pantherandstrawberry on Tumblr. Since FFN won't let me add links, please visit my Tumblr to see the original which read: _Magic AU where Ichigo is a magician and summons his familiar when he becomes an adult and he's so happy, even if he keeps it cool, because it's since when he was a child he was waiting for it and wonders what kind of familiar is the best fitting with his powers. And then Grimmjow happens._

The prompt was used with permission from the very gracious pantherandstrawberry.

* * *

Ichigo joined the crowd in the school's courtyard clustered around Keigo. It was always the same whenever one of their class finally succeeded in summoning their familiar—everyone was curious and wanted to see exactly what it could do.

Keigo laughed and waved his arms as his rabbit familiar darted around, showing off its extreme speed and agility. The other students of magic cheered it on, those watching with their own familiars smug.

Those few senior students who didn't have their familiars yet—like Ichigo—just painted on smiles and faked their happiness.

Once Ichigo felt he'd shared enough in the congratulations, he pushed back out of the crowd toward the gate and left for home. His friend Chad fell into step with him, quiet and steady as always, just like the tortoise familiar that stuck its head out of the pack on Chad's back.

Ichigo felt the growing frustration that always accompanied anyone else's successful familiar summoning.

All the children in the kingdom were tested when they were old enough to show potential for magic. If they did, they were enrolled into the school that focused on the fundamentals of magic as well as regular schooling. In some cases, the magic ran heavily in families whose children were automatically welcomed to the school because the odds were great they would be magicians themselves.

That was Ichigo's luck since his father was a renowned healing mage, and his mother had been a well-loved battle mage before her untimely death.

The great majority of magicians were conscripted into some kind of service to the kingdom, and in times of war or threats to the kingdom, many were used in battle. Ichigo's father often commented sourly that it seemed like the kingdom was interested in nothing but war anymore, but one of his sisters usually shushed him quickly.

Ichigo didn't care about all that political crap at the moment. All he wanted was his damn familiar.

He'd shown moments of magical aptitude ever since he was a child, and his mother had been thrilled that he would go on to the school. He worked hard at the classroom exercises, listened attentively at all the lectures and demonstrated that he had all the skill and knowledge necessary to be a master magician.

But not without a familiar. As the professors always said, a magician didn't come into his or her own without a familiar. They couldn't pick or choose or influence their familiar in any way. At some point after they were named an adult at the age of 18, they could perform the summoning ceremony that would draw their familiar to the human world where they would form a bond for life.

They'd all seen the great master magicians and their amazing summons. They worked in tandem, the familiar helping focus the magician's power and lending their own. A magician couldn't claim the title and had only a bare spark of power without a familiar and its bond.

It didn't always happen at the first summoning. Sometimes the magician wasn't strong enough yet, or the bond wasn't ready to be formed. Most mage students kept the failed attempts quiet out of a sense of shame. So no one but his father knew that Ichigo had tried the ceremony as many times as he could since his birthday.

Isshin claimed loudly that he wasn't worried at all about Ichigo and his fittingly stubborn familiar, but Ichigo noticed after his sixth failure, Isshin gave him more sidelong worried looks. And Isshin's huge wolfhound familiar who had babysat him and carried young Ichigo out of trouble more times than Ichigo could count actually came and sat with him, head on his lap, panting quietly but supportive.

Ichigo nodded at Chad as they peeled off toward their respective homes. Chad's tortoise bobbed its head at him, too.

Even his teachers told him not to worry, after all, Ishida didn't have his familiar yet and he was the star pupil of the entire school.

It only frustrated Ichigo more, and his anger fueled his magic work with sometimes disastrous results. Sometimes, just on the edge of his hearing, he was almost positive he could hear a voice whispering something, if only he could hear it and understand. He was afraid to ask if that was part of the summoning.

He mentally ran through the checklist for the summoning ceremony, and calculated when he would be able to attempt it again.

But the next day a very solemn head magician came to the school with grim news: the little-known monsters called Hollows were invading the southern region of the kingdom, and the military needed as many mages as they could muster. All the senior students, whether or not they had familiars, were to be sent as support to the front lines until the commanders could recall the regiments stationed on the north side of the kingdom bordering the Quincies.

Ichigo felt like he barely had time to say teary goodbyes with his family before they were shipped out. The students who were strong with their familiars were immediately put into use with the battalions while the others were used in supplementary roles around the temporary camp.

Ichigo hated it. Not the horrors and bloodshed of battles that he never saw, but being unable to help and offer aid to his friends. He saw Orihime come back every evening exhausted as she fell into her cot, and Chad was too tired to even eat unless Ichigo made him. They risked themselves while he was stuck helping out in the camp infirmary or running errands for the other mages.

Ichigo would have given anything to be able to help them, not to defeat the enemy because he didn't care about the Hollows, but to protect the ones he loved.

The Hollows continued to attack and skirmish at villages along the border, but the mages and soldiers drove them back from the thinly populated areas.

Then word came from the mage seers that a small scouting group of Hollows was headed up into the mountains with their ultimate aim the Seireitei Pass. On the other side of the mountain lay several prosperous towns, and if the Hollows managed to take them, it would be very bad for the country and give them a foothold for further invasion. But if the scouting party could be stopped at the pass, the invasion might be temporarily halted.

When Commander Ukitake asked for volunteers to lend support to one of the regiments being sent to guard the pass, Ichigo was the first to raise his hand. He didn't need any augmentation to swing a sword, and he didn't need a damned stupid familiar to fight. Even though Ukitake assured him he wouldn't see action, Ichigo knew he could lend a hand where it mattered guarding and protecting his homeland.

No one was expecting the large swarm of Hollows that rushed through the pass shortly before dawn and overpowered the camp.

Ichigo woke in an instant and followed the charge as soon as he was armed. The borrowed sword felt right and good in his hand as he engaged his first real battle. He listened to what his instructors had taught him, and though his form was choppy, he was brutally lethal.

But there were so many of them, masked Hollows bounding through the pass into the flat where the camp lay. Ichigo and the soldiers fought and fought, but there were so many more than they'd expected from what their scouts had seen.

Ichigo fought until his legs were weak, his arms numb from exhaustion. The sword didn't feel like an extension of himself any longer; it was a weight dragging him down, and when he swung his fist at one Hollow he was locked in combat with, his hand felt foreign and disembodied.

The masked Hollow easily disarmed him then kicked him to the ground and ran Ichigo's own sword through him. Ichigo gasped and grabbed the blade where it pierced his stomach.

He lay there as the huge Hollow above him roared and taunted. Ichigo tried to look for help but there were only fallen soldiers and mages all around him. The Hollow jerked the sword out of him, slicing his hands, and Ichigo couldn't even scream as blood poured from his belly.

As the Hollow held the sword above him, ready to administer the final blow, Ichigo heard a voice louder and angrier than even the dying groans around him. The voice rang in his head and the speech was finally clear and he croaked the words "Grind Pantera" as the Hollow struck.

The blow didn't land. There was a crackle of lightning that blinded and a booming, deafening roar that knocked several nearby soldiers off their feet. The Hollow that had threatened Ichigo was blown back by the concussive force, into the horde of Hollows that stopped in place.

As the smoke cleared, there was a man standing between Ichigo and Hollows. Ichigo could only see that he was tall and his back was broad before the man leaped into action. He flickered out of sight for an instant but before Ichigo could blink, he was in front of the Hollow who still held Ichigo's bloodied sword.

Before the Hollow could rise, the man speared his entire forearm through the Hollow's chest. When he pulled it out, he was holding its heart.

A scream went up through the Hollows, and the horde began to surround him. But the man didn't appear to care. He leaped into the fray and tore through the crowd of Hollows, stabbing his arm through them, breaking them with vicious kicks, snapping their necks between his hands.

Ichigo could only lay and watch it with growing horror. He'd never seen the man or the uniform he wore before. He had no idea that the military had a fighter such as this one. It was incredible; it was astounding; it was a bloodbath.

Once there were no more Hollows attacking him, and he'd chased a few back down the pass, the man turned and returned, standing above Ichigo. Ichigo had the impression of bright blue eyes staring intently at him and blue hair sticking up messily from his head.

"Damn, you're a mess." Ichigo coughed up some blood and the man hunkered down in front of him. "Come on, dumbass, let's go."

Ichigo couldn't even argue as the man picked him up and slung him over a shoulder. He mercifully passed out.

When he came to, it was to shouting and then a jolt of pain as he was placed unceremoniously on the ground. The man who had carried him was yelling and arguing loudly and vulgarly. Ichigo could barely move his head to see a semi-circle of his own soldiers surrounding them.

Then Chad pushed through the soldiers, calling his name, and Ichigo weakly lifted a hand toward him. The man stepped aside to let Chad get to Ichigo, but Chad only dropped to a knee beside him and said "Get Orihime" to someone out of Ichigo's sight.

Ichigo felt Chad pressing on his stomach but he was past the pain now, and all he could do was try and tell Chad what he wanted his family to know. But the man hunkered beside them and said angrily, "Shut the hell up. You're not giving up yet. You'll stay with me if I have to reach in there and hold your blood in myself."

Ichigo tried to demand who the hell he was to be such an asshole when Orihime ran to him. "Oh Ichigo," she said, tears in her eyes as she called forth her familiar to perform its healing magic with her. The glowing shield Ichigo had seen in school surrounded him, and he closed his eyes.

He couldn't hear much while he was in the healing aura, but it sounded like some of the camp superiors were crowded around, shouting questions, while the man who had saved Ichigo was ignoring all of them.

As Orihime's magic coursed through him and repaired him from the inside out, Ichigo felt himself getting stronger and he opened his eyes slowly. The man was staring down at him without blinking, his brows pulled together and angry looking.

Ichigo was reaching up for him before he even realized it. His fingers hesitated before they broke through the shield, and the man snorted loudly. He reached down to the shield, not quite touching it either, large hand spread out like he would palm Ichigo's chest, and said, "Get your shit together, kid."

Ichigo smiled tiredly, and the man's face changed. It looked almost painful, but the angry brow melted away and he kept his hand there, hovering over the shield so that Ichigo imagined he could feel the heat from it melting into him.

Then Commander Ukitake stood over them. "What is this? What happened, Kurosaki? You're supposed to be guarding the pass."

Ichigo couldn't speak yet, and the blue-haired man refused to talk. There was an unhappy stalemate until Orihime dropped the shield with a tired sigh. Ichigo immediately started to sit while Chad steadied him. He was still staring at the blue-haired man who now sat back on his heels and looked like he was ostentatiously ignoring the entirety of the world.

"Commander, we were attacked," Ichigo finally got out.

"Ichigo, you need to rest," Orihime put a gentle hand on his shoulder but the man snarled at her and she withdrew it quickly.

"I have to tell you what happened. We were attacked by the Hollows before dawn. There were so many of them, way more than the seers said," Ichigo hurried. Chad handed him a canteen and he took a grateful sip.

"Impossible!" Ukitake gasped, the men behind him shaking their heads and muttering.

"It was a massacre," Ichigo said honestly. "They killed so many of us, but we kept fighting and trying to push them back. And then one of them stabbed me and then—and then—" Ichigo didn't know how to go on. Surely his remembrances were faulty because of the near-fatal wound. There was no way that had actually happened. Somehow his memories were messed up because of blood loss and shock.

"Kurosaki, you couldn't have been at the pass this morning at dawn," Ukitake began to kneel but then backed up rapidly when the blue-haired man uncurled to stand up at his full height in front of Ichigo.

"What do you mean? I was there!" Ichigo insisted and struggled to stand, feeling at too much a disadvantage on the ground.

"You couldn't have been in the pass this morning at dawn and made it here. It lacks more than an hour to mid-day, and the pass is a full day's run from here," Ukitake insisted.

Ichigo was at a loss. He should have known that but it didn't register that he'd appeared at the camp the very same day. Any later and he would have been surely dead. He gaped at the blue-haired man who only shrugged and gave him a little smirk. "I'm fast," was all he said.

Ukitake was talking in a hush with his advisers. He glanced back at Ichigo and said, "You will wait in the mess tent until we hear from the messengers. The soonest one could arrive from the pass is midday. Then we'll have the truth."

Ichigo was ready to argue, but Chad and Orihime took either side of him and led him to the mess tent. The man followed them somehow looking as though he'd rather be anywhere but there but still glared at anyone who came close to Ichigo.

"I just don't understand," Ichigo said over and over as he paced. "I don't understand any of it. And you, who the hell are you?" He pointed at the man who stood at the other side of a table, hands in the pockets of his unfamiliar trousers. The man just glared back.

"Ichigo," Chad said slowly, "I think he's your familiar."

Ichigo gaped. "The hell he is."

"The hell I am," the man said angrily. "I don't know what the fuck a familiar is but I know I'm not one."

"That's impossible," Ichigo said even as his thoughts tumbled and whirled. "You can't be. There's no way. But—" then he remembered.

"I heard a voice," Ichigo said slowly. "It yelled at me and told me the words to say. I don't know why I would have called it out otherwise. I said something about a panther. And then you appeared. And saved me."

All their eyes turned to the man. "Tch, sure, you may have summoned me, but I'm here to kick your ass, not to save it."

"But you did save me. And all the other soldiers still alive out there. You beat the Hollows back singlehandedly."

"They weren't even a real battle," the man bragged.

"And you somehow brought me back, all that way, in minutes."

"Only because you were gonna bleed out out there. Once you're fixed up, I can crush you and leave," he said.

"Why?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"Because I keep hearing your voice!" the man almost shouted, fists clenching. "I just wanna make you shut the hell up!"

"Where? Where were you before you appeared on the battlefield?" Chad asked.

"Where I was?" the man asked, looking around the tent evasively. "I don't need to tell you that."

"What's your name?" Orihime piped up. "I'm Orihime."

"Grimmjow. And I don't care who the hell you all are. I just want you to stop screaming at me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not screaming at you!" Ichigo screamed at him.

Grimmjow got in his face. "All I hear is your damn voice, night and day, calling and calling!"

"Why the hell would I call _you_?" Ichigo threw a punch at his jaw, just out of frustration, just to shut him up.

Grimmjow was lifted off his feet and flew backward, right through the cloth wall of the tent.

Ichigo stood staring at the hole in the tent and then at his fist, still clenched and raised. He carefully pulled it back like he was cocking it and threw a random jab. Nothing happened, but Chad and Orihime stepped back anyway, also staring in fascination at his fist.

"What just happened?" he asked of the world at large.

Grimmjow stepped through the hole in the tent, grinning with murderous glee. "Now you get it. Come on, let's go."

They all took a step back. "I didn't mean to do that," Ichigo said quickly.

"I barely felt it. Do it again." Grimmjow offered his jaw eagerly.

Ichigo was saved from his decision of whether or not to hit him when Ukitake ducked under the entrance to the tent. He opened his mouth then stared at the hole in the opposite wall and forgot what he was about to say.

"Sir, are you all right?" Orihime asked, and that seemed to rouse him.

"Yes, I'm fine, but our outpost at the pass is certainly not," he sighed. "Ichigo, I'm sorry I doubted you. We've had an emergency report that corroborates what you told us about the attack. It was sent by Captain Toshiro right as the attack began. I will expect an update shortly, hopefully with casualty reports, although, judging by what you said, they will be dreadful."

"It was bad," Ichigo said.

Ukitake was looking Grimmjow up and down. "Will you introduce me to your...friend?"

"Sir, this is Grimmjow. We're still trying to figure out what's going on."

"You don't know who he is?" Ukitake shifted imperceptibly to free his sword.

"We think he's Ichigo's familiar," Chad said before Ichigo could fumble through an attempt at explanation.

"Oh. Oh my." Even Ukitake looked taken aback.

"It's impossible, right?" Ichigo nearly begged. "He can't be a familiar. He's-" Ichigo gestured up and down like Grimmjow was a particularly large puppy he was showing off excitedly to his friends. Everyone just stared at him until he finished, "He's, like, human! He talks! He can't be a familiar."

Grimmjow started a growl that was low and menacing, but Ukitake said slowly, "That might not be necessarily true. We should talk to Kyoraku."

"Isn't he still in Karakura?"

"Yes, but this and the attack on the pass require a special communique. I will gather the communication mages and send you a messenger when we have contact. We have already dispatched backup to the pass, but until we know more, we're helpless. Although, if there was an entire horde of Hollows there, it does explain why they haven't attacked down here at full power today."

Ichigo, Chad and Orihime sketched out salutes as he turned to leave. Ichigo glared when Grimmjow made a rude gesture behind his back.

"So what do we do now?" Ichigo asked.

"You should rest," Orihime said as Grimmjow called out, "Fight!"

Ichigo spared a small smile for her and a narrow-eyed glare at him. "We're not fighting. Not yet."

Grimmjow turned away with a noise of disgust. "Then what do you have to eat and drink here? I wasted a lot of energy on an ingrate like you."

Chad got up silently to rummage through the scanty supplies. Grimmjow threw himself down on a chair and sulked, as best as Ichigo could describe it. Ichigo worked his way methodically through the food Chad put before him, at Orihime's insistence. Grimmjow eventually found the store of medicinal brandy and tapped it. The afternoon crept by as he watched Grimmjow work his way steadily through the bottle when all Ichigo suddenly wanted was a nap.

When a messenger came for him, Ichigo jumped up and gestured to Grimmjow. "Screw you," he said loudly. "Not goin' with you if I can't fight you."

"Then stay here and be good for nothing," Ichigo gritted out and followed the messenger. He wasn't at all surprised to hear a grumble and then the shuffle of a large body close behind him.

There were a handful of mages and familiars in the tent, some that Ichigo had never seen before but who must be the high-level communications mages. Rumor had it they could project voice and picture in real time over huge distances, but it came at a large cost of energy so it was used for emergencies only.

Ukitake was talking to what looked like a mirror, but the face in the glass was not his. Ichigo recognized Kyoraku who helped oversee the school. He saluted sharply. Grimmjow belched behind him.

"Ah, Ichigo, you've had quite the adventure, I hear," Kyoraku said.

"I'm still not sure what's going on," Ichigo admitted.

Kyoraku laughed and Ukitake stepped back form the glass so Ichigo could stand nearer. "Well, let's see what we can figure out, shall we? Can you get your friend to step closer to the glass?"

Ichigo turned his head to find Grimmjow practically crawling up his back, squinting angrily at the glass. Ichigo said wryly, "Is that close enough?"

"Yes, I think so. Ukitake said you believe he's your familiar."

"I don't believe it. Chad's the one who said it," Ichigo insisted quickly.

"What do you think he could be then? His arrival was fortuitous to the extreme, the timing perfect to save you."

"Just lucky, I guess?"

"Ichigo, when have you ever been lucky?" Kyoraku laughed at him again, but Ichigo had to admit it was true. "And I understand that you spoke something right before he appeared."

Ichigo tried to ignore the heavy, alcohol-fused breathing right beside his ear. He put a hand up and pushed at Grimmjow's face in annoyance. "Yeah, I remember that. But I definitely didn't do the summoning ceremony. There was no way in hell that could have happened."

"Well, you see, Ichigo, there are certain...exceptions that we don't tell you students. Things that happen so rarely they are only documented in the archives. There are tales of familiars being summoned without the full ceremony, if contact has been made previously. Especially if the mage has tried repeatedly."

Ichigo felt a quiver of anxiety in his stomach.

"It's said that some of the great ones had humanoid familiars," Kyoraku slowly. "They were supposedly things of legend with untold power. They seem to have made a bargain like we do with our familiars but it was mutually beneficial."

"How exactly would that even work?" Ichigo said and slapped Grimmjow in the chest as he waved his arm. "What does he expect from me?"

"I told you, I wanna fucking fight you," Grimmjow's voice was a rumble that Ichigo could feel because he just then realized he was still touching Grimmjow's chest. Ichigo tore his hand away quickly.

"Why is my familiar a drunken, cursing psycho with anger management issues?" Ichigo all but wailed. Grimmjow snorted, Ukitake coughed and Kyoraku looked like he was choking on a laugh.

"It's said, Ichigo, that the familiar is the other half of your soul," Kyoraku made placating gestures before Ichigo could interrupt. "If your power is so great, a normal familiar would burn out. Yours had to be great to equal you and your soul's power. It seems that he might be your match."

Ichigo turned to Grimmjow still standing right behind him. "I don't believe it. He can't be."

"I'm not any happier than you, strawberry. There's no way in hell that I'm some half of you. I'm all me."

"You're one hundred percent ass," Ichigo said.

"Well, boys, if that's all you needed from me, let me say congratulations, Ichigo, and best of luck with your new familiar. Now, Ukitake and I should get back to discussing our new defense plans in light of the attack this morning."

That drew all of Ichigo's attention back to Kyoraku. "What about the regiment at the pass? How are they?"

Kyoraku's typical easy smile disappeared. "We were able to check in with Captain Toushiro who informed us that casualties were high. But, he and all the scouts assure us that the few Hollows who survived have retreated back down the mountain. Apparently they were surprised by the overwhelming force they found, partially thanks to your familiar," he nodded at Grimmjow. "It appears that they have withdrawn from both fronts temporarily, so we're able to bring our soldiers to supplement the ranks and allow you mage students to return home."

"But, why? We're already here. And now we know what we're facing, and what we can do about it," Ichigo argued.

"Because you're still students," Kyoraku said kindly. "Those of you who decide to join the military forces will surely see the fight again, but for now, our official word is to bring you back home. Ukitake will make the official announcement but for now, prepare yourselves to leave in the morning."

"That's great news," Orihime said as they left the tent together. "It will be nice to be home again."

Chad grunted in agreement, but Ichigo said, "It's a stupid waste of our talents. If we're already here, and now that we've actually seen battle, why not keep using us? After all, we're just going to join up anyway." Then he looked closely at his friends when they were silent. "Aren't we?"

"I don't think so," Orihime said quietly, not looking up at him. "I'm very happy with my familiar, and I love that it gives me so much power for healing. I just don't know if I want to use that in a war. Ichigo, I heal a soldier one night and the next day he comes in again with another terrible wound. It doesn't stop. It breaks my heart, and there's nothing I can do."

Ichigo was stunned. "I didn't realize, Orihime."

Orihime smiled the tiny, sad smile that Ichigo noticed on her more and more. "I want to heal and help, Ichigo, and maybe working in a clinic like your father does would be the best place for me."

"Have you talked to him? I'm sure he could point you in the right direction, like he did when he left the military."

Orihime nodded and wiped her eyes. "I just wish I could be there for you guys. I'll be worried sick about you two out fighting."

"I'm staying in the homeland guard," Chad said suddenly, his quiet but firm voice surprising them both. "I don't want to keep fighting, I only want to defend our people."

"That makes a lot of sense," Ichigo said slowly. He'd known Chad for years and knew that his protective streak ran as deep and powerful as Ichigo's own. It still came as a surprise that he would leave the front lines.

"What a bunch of wimps," Grimmjow said, jolting them all out of their reveries. They stopped and stared at him. "Here you are, claiming to have all these great powers and yet you don't want to put them to use? This is why you're all getting your asses handed to you by the Hollows. You should be out there kicking ass and overpowering them."

"What do you know about the Hollows?' Ichigo challenged.

Grimmjow grinned. "I know they go down fast when you stick your hand through their chests."

"Disgusting."

"You weren't complaining when I was saving your worthless ass," Grimmjow got in his face. Ichigo shoved at his chest.

"I didn't ask you to!"

"You'd be dead if it wasn't for me!"

"It's not my fault you're here!"

"I'm only here to finish you. Let's go get it over with."

"Where will you go then?" Orihime asked suddenly, surprising them both into looking at her.

Grimmjow just shrugged it off. "Doesn't matter. I'll be free from your whiny voice in my head and I can do what I want."

"If you want a fight, then let's do it," Ichigo jumped toward Grimmjow, but Chad darted between them. He pushed them apart, and Orihime grabbed Ichigo's arm.

"You were almost dead this morning. You have to rest, Ichigo."

"Fine. I'll go rest. But what is _he_ going to do while I'm trying to sleep?"

"Don't fucking worry about me. I'm not leaving you until I get what I came for. That's to end your voice permanently," Grimmjow snarled.

"Whether you're my familiar or not, I'm gonna figure out how to send you back to whatever hell you came out of," Ichigo was ready to block when Grimmjow lunged at him only to run into Chad again.

Chad pointed at the next tent. "We're in here," he said. With a glare at Grimmjow and a huff of anger, Ichigo went into the tent at Orihime's urging.

He changed into a clean uniform she provided and willed himself to look away from the bloodstains and holes in the used one. He thought the bickering would continue, but apparently Grimmjow also took the opportunity for rest, curling up on a pallet that Chad spread out.

Ichigo lay rigid on his borrowed cot then rolled his back to them and smiled into the darkness. Even if it was some kind of cosmic mix-up, even if it was completely wrong, he finally had his familiar. He could finally become a full-fledged mage. The relief was overwhelming, and he did have to admit his familiar was pretty damn powerful. And cool. Even if he was a total dick.

* * *

"Ichigo, are you sure you didn't accidentally summon a demon from the lower realms?" Isshin asked not two hours after Grimmjow had joined them at their home.

Grimmjow bared his teeth at all of them, and Ichigo rolled his eyes. "I'm almost positive that that's impossible without a lot of preparation."

"Well so's the summoning ceremony but you managed to skip that step," Isshin reminded him.

Ichigo had to admit that Grimmjow hadn't been a good influence so far. He found himself remembering what Kyoraku said about familiars being the other half of the mage's soul. He was really afraid of what that said about him.

Grimmjow had gotten into three fights on the way home, two of which he started, and even began a tavern brawl. He fought indiscriminately, he said whatever he wanted, and he was wily and cunning. He was also a lot smarter than Ichigo would have given him credit for at first.

When Ichigo and Chad discussed troop placement, Grimmjow asked several questions that made them re-think and offered several suggestions for attack formations. But when Ichigo casually tried to bring up other things, Grimmjow ignored him or made snide comments until Ichigo was angry and ready to throw down.

When they returned to school, Ichigo had to take the special class for those newly bonded to familiars. To say Grimmjow was not a success at school would be a major understatement. He always trailed along just behind Ichigo, made fun of the other students to their faces, mocked the teachers and drop-kicked Keigo's familiar once while they were doing special bonding exercises.

That ended with Keigo in tears clutching his rabbit and Ichigo in Grimmjow's face, where he seemed to like it. Ichigo's tantrums, as Grimmjow called them, only invigorated them both. They soon learned that sparring was the only way to relieve the unrelenting anger.

Their spars became things of legend at the school. The bizarre super strength that Ichigo had first shown returned and they both fought with greatest relish. They destroyed several parts of the gymnasium before Kyoraku banned them from indoor training. Grimmjow loved to show off his super-speed that he called sonido, and Ichigo began to take lessons in flash-step from an instructor on the side so he could keep up.

Grimmjow's strength was extreme and now Ichigo's was too, particularly when they fought each other. Grimmjow had some kind of protective hard skin that brushed off many strikes, and Ichigo found his hardened as well when he was in battle mode.

Perhaps the strangest side effect came when they were tapped to spar against a visiting combat mage who was rated highly in the military. Grimmjow and Ichigo fought seamlessly, one on and one off like they were reading each other's minds. Ichigo couldn't explain it later to the instructor, just that he knew what Grimmjow was going to do and adjusted accordingly.

And although several high officials approached Grimmjow regularly, he refused to tell them anything. They wanted to know what the familiar world was like, where he came from, his feelings about being a familiar, everything they'd ever wanted to ask their own. But he just cursed them and walked away, sticking as close to Ichigo as possible without actually sharing his skin.

Ichigo had come to accept that Grimmjow was his familiar now, even as he bickered with Karin over stupid things like who drank all the milk and spat at his father when he suggested Grimmjow do some chores around the house instead of being a lazy freeloader. The time he caught Grimmjow actually hissing and pacing in a wary circle opposite his dad's growling familiar, he'd just shut the door and went on his way.

The only possible thing Ichigo could admit to being disappointed about—and then only ever to himself, never to be repeated to anyone, ever—was that Grimmjow wasn't exactly the familiar he'd imagined all his life.

It wasn't often talked about, but everyone he knew, even his own father, would occasionally call upon their familiar just for comfort. Whether it was because the familiar truly was half their soul or just because the familiar was always near, it seemed to help to share strength with and help them focus. And sometimes it was just nice for hugs and warmth when they needed comfort.

The mere thought of cuddling Grimmjow or sleeping with him made Ichigo break into a cold sweat.

It didn't stop him from noticing the way some others at school looked at Grimmjow. And he wasn't sure what it said about Ichigo himself, but he looked too. Grimmjow was so exotic and bright compared to the people who surrounded Ichigo. While his own orange hair had always occasioned comment, Grimmjow's looks seemed to make people look twice or three times. Ichigo couldn't blame them.

But he learned to bury those kind of thoughts very deeply after Professor Urahara pulled him aside after class, snapped open his ever-present fan and informed Ichigo that sex with familiars was outlawed. And then he'd asked some very personal questions about the habits of both Grimmjow and Ichigo himself. Only Grimmjow barging back into the room, yelling at Ichigo for wandering off without him, saved Urahara from an untimely death.

Ichigo was counting the days until his official graduation when he and Grimmjow were called to the office of Professor Aizen. He was one of the most beloved instructors at the school, although Ichigo had never really known him well. He specialized in working with students who had bonded very early with their familiars.

"I would love to study the relationship between the two of you," Aizen told them with the quiet smile that was his hallmark.

Ichigo and Grimmjow exchanged a look. "Study what, exactly?" Ichigo asked.

"As you may know, I am very interested in learning about the bonds between mage and familiar. I believe that there may be ways to strengthen them even more, which could possibly create more power for them to tap. It seems that the area has never been properly studied." He looked them both over. "I have read the legends that talk about humanoid familiars and the great power they offered to their mages. It would be an honor to see exactly what the two of you are capable of."

Ichigo felt a chill run down his back for no good reason and he glanced at Grimmjow to see an uncharacteristic serious look on his face as he looked more confused than angry.

"I'm already signed up to join the military after graduation," Ichigo reminded Aizen. "We won't be around too long."

He smiled again and pushed up his glasses. "I will be grateful for whatever time the two of you can spare me. If it's not too much trouble, you can meet me in the small training room tomorrow night."

"Okay," Ichigo said without consulting Grimmjow who turned his typical scowl on him. "We'll be there," Ichigo said shortly before Grimmjow could object.

But the sessions didn't allay Ichigo's lingering anxiety around Aizen. It wasn't anything that he could put his finger on exactly.

Aizen always treated them strictly professionally, and brought his colleagues Gin and Tousen with him for the examinations. He would offer Ichigo and Grimmjow tests while they were in the same room, sometimes physical and sometimes academic. Then he would have them sit in separate rooms and do similar tests again while Tousen and Gin looked on.

He asked them a lot of questions about how Grimmjow was summoned—questions that both of them prevaricated and talked around instead of answering without even agreeing on it beforehand. Aizen was also very interested in their bond and how they fought together.

After seeing them spar in class, he had them fight each other several times and then go up against the team of Gin and Tousen while he sat and took notes.

It all made Ichigo uneasy and even though he wouldn't admit it, Grimmjow seemed to be too. Neither one of them liked Aizen, but Ichigo wasn't sure which one of them was causing it or if they were feeding off each other's mistrust.

"There's something off about him," Grimmjow muttered as he wrapped his hands for another spar.

"I know, but I can't figure it out," Ichigo whispered back. Grimmjow reached over to tighten Ichigo's tape then tap his fists with his own.

"Let's beat the shit out of him," he suggested.

"Them first," Ichigo nodded toward Gin and Tousen and Grimmjow bumped their fists again.

The night before graduation, Aizen asked them for one final session as he believed his research was coming to a critical point. Ichigo didn't know what he'd gotten out of them other than some ogling of Grimmjow fighting shirtless, but pretty much everyone that wanted to got an eyeful of that.

Ichigo agreed, over Grimmjow's grumbling, and they met Aizen in the isolated small training room he preferred.

"Tonight, I thought we'd try something a little different. I have to thank the two of you for providing me with so much more information about familiars than I wouldn't have been able to gather on my own. The relationship between the two of you is fascinating."

Ichigo usually tuned out when Aizen got to lecturing, but for some reason, he felt jittery and anxious. Especially when Aizen turned and said, "Did you know that it's mentioned in the legends that some Hollows could fight with something similar to familiars? Oh yes, Hollows have been plaguing us for that long," he said when he saw Ichigo's expression. "Not many mages have wanted to study such abominations, as they call them, but I've always wondered about them and their powers. And if those powers were related to mages or could be supplemented with familiars. It's fascinating."

"Uh-huh," Ichigo said, rolling his eyes to look at Grimmjow. Grimmjow was looking back at him with the same kind of doubt.

"Well, let's get this finished, shall we? Grimmjow, if you would be so good as to go with Tousen? No, you won't need a weapon." As they left, Aizen beckoned to Ichigo. "I want you to come to the observation room with me. We'll watch them fight, give you a break tonight."

Ichigo followed, every step seeming to drag reluctantly. He didn't know what was giving him a sense of foreboding but it was all he could do to enter the observation room with Aizen and Gin. It had windows where they could watch Tousen and Grimmjow squaring off.

Grimmjow fought like he was taking out every single aggression he'd ever felt. Ichigo knew just how powerful he was and how fast he could be. It seemed like he would easily overpower Tousen and his familiar, but Ichigo's gut still clenched. Even though Tousen had a sword and Grimmjow was unarmed, something still felt off.

Grimmjow knocked Tousen down, but Tousen swept his sword at Grimmjow's feet, making him jump back. It gave Tousen the time he needed to reach into his robes and withdraw something. Ichigo squinted because it looked like...a Hollow mask?

Tousen put the mask over his face and suddenly he was pushing Grimmjow back with one strike. Ichigo clenched his fists and took a step closer to the glass without realizing it. Tousen was beating Grimmjow handily now, and his anger was making Grimmjow sloppy. Tousen's familiar darted between them and Grimmjow roared, lashing out to grab it, and Tousen struck.

His sword severed Grimmjow's arm with a single blow. Grimmjow howled and dropped to his knees as blood spurted from the grievous wound.

Ichigo screamed where he stood and swore he could feel the pain. He took one step toward the glass, toward Grimmjow, when Gin's sword swung in front of him.

"Not so fast," he said then Aizen sprayed something in Ichigo's face that blinded him, choked him, and he ended up on the floor gasping and holding his throat.

"Let's see what that does to you now," Ichigo heard Aizen's voice from a mile away before he lost consciousness.

He didn't know how long he was out, but Ichigo came awake in a rush. Nothing felt right, everything was very wrong. He didn't know who he was, and he could feel a gaping hole in himself. He bellowed and sprang to his feet, searching around him for whatever it was he was missing.

He saw Aizen and Gin but they were weirdly distorted. Still, he knew somehow that he should kill them and that's what he set out to do. He attacked bare-handed, but Gin's sword blocked his thrust toward Aizen's chest. Then he was fighting one-on-one with Gin in the small room as Aizen backed calmly out of the way.

"It looks more successful than I had hoped," Aizen said. "He developed the mask quite quickly, once his familiar was taken care of."

 _His familiar._ The words meant something to Ichigo, were something that he should care about. It was taken care of. What did that mean?

When he jumped over the table at Gin, he got a glimpse at the window. There was a man inside who seemed to glow to Ichigo's eyes. He was slumped in a huge puddle of blood. Ichigo knew that he needed to get to him, no matter what.

He turned his leap at Gin into the window and crashed through the glass. He slid through the blood to the man's side and turned him over.

His eyes fluttered open and he frowned. "What the fuck? Ichigo? Why'd you have a mask?"

Ichigo reached up and felt it then, a hard bone-like mask covering his face. He pulled at it and it hurt. He looked down at Grimmjow whose eyes had gone shut again. He was very still.

Ichigo wrenched at the mask then and screamed, the scream of a heart that was broken and dying, of all the longing and pain and loss. He ripped the mask off just in time to see Grimmjow open his eyes again.

"Grimmjow, hold on," he gasped, pressing his hands to Grimmjow's shoulder.

"I'll be fine," Grimmjow spat irritably. "As long as you're alive, I can't be pushed out of this realm."

"That's what we're counting on," Aizen said from the door where he stood with Gin and Tousen. "This really has been the most fascinating evening."

"What did you do?" Ichigo turned from Grimmjow only for a second.

"I should thank you two for providing me with the most interesting research," Aizen said with his eerie little smile. "I've been wanting to try the potion on a full-fledged mage for some time, but all my previous tests indicated it wouldn't work unless the familiar had been neutralized. And now that I've perfected my system, I'll be sharing it with my subordinates in the Hollow Kingdom. I think it will strengthen them and we can finally conquer this kingdom. Then I will rule here. But we don't need you anymore."

Aizen gestured, and Gin stepped forward. "Sorry, Ichigo, no hard feelings, eh?"

Gin's blade extended and pierced him, slicing something in his back. Ichigo gasped and fell beside Grimmjow, who struggled and slipped in his own blood, trying to get to his feet and cursing Gin and Aizen.

Gin just gave them a little wave and backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Ichigo gasped for breath and realized that he couldn't feel his legs. Grimmjow's strength seemed to give out as well, and he slumped down close to Ichigo's side.

Ichigo's mind swirled through a flood of emotions as they lay there, dying. "Well," he tried to speak but it came out a rasp. "You always said you were here to kill me, and that's happening."

"Shut up, you son of a bitch," Grimmjow grabbed his hand in a bruising grip. "If you die here I'll kick your ass myself."

"You dumb bastard," Ichigo said with the greatest affection he could muster. "It's your death threats that I'll miss the most."

Grimmjow crawled on top of him and kissed him. It was disgusting, nasty and wondrous, and Ichigo couldn't breathe from Grimmjow's weight and the injury. All he could do was bring his shaking hand up to touch Grimmjow's face, rub his cheek gently and open his mouth to Grimmjow's tongue wet with blood and sharp with fangs.

"I still can't believe that you're my familiar," he panted when the kiss ended.

"Heh. What would you have done with a furry little useless moppet like the rest of them?" Grimmjow nuzzled his cheek and Ichigo tried to make his hand obey and run through Grimmjow's hair.

"Could've cuddled. Petted. Hugged, like my mom's cat. It was the best. I always hoped and dreamed mine would be that cute," Ichigo's voice trailed off and his hand fell away.

"Shit, Ichigo," Grimmjow's hand slapped his cheek gently. "Hey, don't hate me, okay. And don't close your eyes. I...I need to try this."

Grimmjow rolled off him and lay there panting. He was almost white from blood loss but he shut his eyes and called the words "Grind Pantera" as loudly as he could, and his whiteness became the bleach of bone that outlined and shaped over his body. Ichigo watched in wonder as his hair grew longer, his body stretched and became even more sharp and angular, and the bone covered him. When he flexed his hand, it was tipped with claws and Ichigo strained to see that his feet had become paws.

Ichigo knew it was the approaching death that made him croak out, "Damn, you're so cute."

Grimmjow's face was subtly changed, the coloring and the ears, oh how Ichigo longed to pet them, but the expression was still pure Grimmjow. "I have just enough power left to get out of here," he said, rolling slowly up to his knees. "Do you trust me? To get out and come back for you? Can't carry you like this," he nodded toward his missing arm.

"I trust you," Ichigo said instantly. "Just..." Grimmjow understood what Ichigo wanted and leaned down and kissed him again. Then he was gone with a rush of speed.

Ichigo tried to count the seconds he was alone, but the cold was growing unbearable. He tried to roll onto his side facing the door but could only pull himself over partway. He knew Grimmjow would be back; he had to return for him. Then he passed out.

The next sensation that Ichigo felt was warmth and a heavy weight at his back. Someone was holding him, and he just tucked his head into the arm beneath him and relaxed because there was no more pain. In his most morbid thoughts, he'd occasionally wondered what happened after death, because all the teachings said that the familiar disappeared for good too. At least he knew now that the familiar was in the afterlife as well since he would recognize the feel of Grimmjow anywhere.

"Are you fucking smiling?" Grimmjow's voice was a low rumble against him but Ichigo couldn't wipe the expression off his face.

"Mm," he agreed, not even opening his eyes.

"What's so funny?"

"Just didn't think the afterlife would be this comfortable."

"The after— what the hell?" Ichigo was disturbed when the arm beneath him suddenly jerked away. He opened his eyes to find Grimmjow looming mere inches over him. "Do you really think you're dead?"

"Well, yeah. That's what happens when you get stabbed in the spine by a sword."

Grimmjow snorted which was more disgusting than Ichigo would have thought from that close. "No, that's what happens when you stabbed and you don't have help from a magic healer right away. Your dad said the wound was just a hair's width from being fatal, but he and your friend got you patched up in no time."

Ichigo couldn't tear his eyes away from Grimmjow's face. "What happened to you? Where's your kitty parts?"

"Kitty parts," Grimmjow muttered to himself. "Fucking ass. Are you listening to me or not? You aren't fucking dead!"

"Okay," Ichigo reached up for Grimmjow's cheek. "You kissed me."

"You kissed me back," he snapped defensively.

"You were really cute."

"So you said," Grimmjow rolled his eyes.

"We should do it again," Ichigo said.

Grimmjow eyed him and smiled slowly. "Your dad said that sometimes his healing leaves an after effect. You're all drugged up."

"No, I'm not," Ichigo argued, but he started to hear himself better now, and he recognized the loopiness that his dad sometimes couldn't get rid of when he did a major healing. "Okay, maybe I am."

Grimmjow kept smiling. "You're kind of cute like this."

Ichigo wrinkled his nose, and Grimmjow bumped it with his own. He ran his nose along Ichigo's cheek. "You said you wanted to pet my ears," he whispered into Ichigo's ear, and Ichigo shivered. Grimmjow licked his rough tongue around the rim of Ichigo's ear and bit the lobe.

"I do." Ichigo brought his hands up to smooth over Grimmjow's shoulders. "Why didn't you ever let me see your other form before?"

"Because I was afraid you might be some kind of familiar cuddler," Grimmjow teased.

Ichigo sputtered then grabbed Grimmjow's head in his hands and pulled him down and kissed him. That kiss was a lot better than the first, Ichigo thought dreamily as Grimmjow's rough tongue played with his own.

Grimmjow ran his thumb over Ichigo's cheek, delicately feeling his face, while his other hand curled around the top of his head where he had his weight braced over Ichigo.

Ichigo pulled away from the kiss so fast Grimmjow growled. "Wait, you have both your arms! You do! Two of them!"

"Yeah, two of them," Grimmjow pushed himself up on one and flexed the other in front of Ichigo. "Thanks to your little healer friend. She fixed me up while your dad worked on you."

"Wow," Ichigo was running his hands up and down Grimmjow's arms, squeezing them and feeling the hard muscles. "So we're really alive. And I'm okay. And you have two arms. And adorable ears that you keep hidden."

Grimmjow flopped onto the bed beside him so hard that Ichigo bounced.

"I don't keep them hidden."

"Then why haven't you ever shown me that form?"

"I didn't have to," Grimmjow said smugly. "I'm already stronger than the rest of you losers."

"You're impossible," Ichigo smacked him in the chest, but Grimmjow grabbed the hand.

"There is something else." He reached under the pillow and placed a cold, hard mask in Ichigo's hand.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked but he was afraid he already knew.

"It feels like a Hollow's," Grimmjow said simply. "It was beside you when I got back. Only your dad and Urahara saw it. Urahara said he could help you, once you're back on your feet."

"Help me with what?" Grimmjow just shrugged and Ichigo shuddered. "Take this somewhere and get rid of it," he said.

"Right now?" Grimmjow asked.

Ichigo tossed it somewhere behind him and reached for Grimmjow. "Not right now. But you can show me your ears."

Sometime much later when they'd both become thoroughly exhausted again, a knock sounded on the door. Ichigo made sure they were both covered and called for the knocker to enter.

It was his father, Urahara and Kyoraku. Ichigo pulled the blankets up around them even higher.

"How are you feeling?" his father bustled over but Ichigo stopped him before he could examine him.

"Better," Ichigo pushed him away firmly. "You can check me over later."

"Ah," Isshin said knowingly and winked. Ichigo felt himself blush and Grimmjow swore quietly.

"Are you up to talking about what happened?" Kyoraku asked courteously. "Grimmjow has already told us what he knows."

Ichigo explained what Aizen had said and done to him and how he was going to defect to the Hollows. From the strained looks on their faces, the three men already knew that.

"We had suspected for some time that there was someone working against us, directing the Hollows," Kyoraku said. "This could be worse than we thought."

"Can't we go after him?" Grimmjow said, ready to fight as always.

Kyoraku shook his head slowly. "We'll need to come up with a plan, and Urahara will work on ways to neutralize whatever Aizen did to you, Ichigo. We know now that you're not the only one. This information actually opened our eyes to some suspicious activity in the past. We have a lot of work to do."

"But we'll do it. And we'll stop him," Ichigo vowed.

Kyoraku smiled at him. "After you've recovered. And taken some time to renew your," he coughed delicately, "bond with your familiar. Then we'll all be eager to see Grimmjow's new form that you mentioned."

Ichigo unconsciously reached out and grabbed Grimmjow's arm. Grimmjow growled at the men and shifted, but Ichigo's hold became a death grip to remind him not to rise. Urahara snickered and Isshin rolled his eyes.

"We'll get back to training as soon as possible," Ichigo promised, and that happy thought seemed to satisfy Grimmjow.

"Get some rest," Isshin warned as they turned to leave. "Real rest, not just lying down."

"Got it, dad. And thanks," Ichigo said, smiling at him. Isshin smiled back and shut the door behind him.

"I'm not showing them my resurreccion form," Grimmjow said. "I don't care what they say."

"No," Ichigo agreed. "That's just for us." Then he slid over to straddle Grimmjow's hips. "You want take the first turn lying down?"

"Actually listening to your father for once?"

"I'm very obedient. Now, let's see what all that form can do."

And Ichigo had to admit, his familiar might not be a small, snuggly pet but Grimmjow cuddled just as aggressively as he did everything else, no matter what his form.


End file.
